Out of the Fire
by mako-lies
Summary: Hannah is sent to Purgatory to retrieve Castiel.


Souls appeared in Purgatory in tangible form. Hannah swerved to avoid hitting a tree, her wings brushing branches as the foul-black Leviathan roared its pursuit. Behind her, she heard two more cries from her siblings—loud and piercing in the heavy air of Purgatory, a place no angel should ever have been.

Which, in the end, was why they were here.

She darted between trees—if she wasn't faster that the Leviathan, hopefully she could outmaneuver it. Another scream sounded behind. Hannah twisted her head to look—and the Leviathan in pursuit opened it maw, teeth dripping that curst black ooze.

That her Father could create such abominations was nearly unimaginable.

Ahead, the glow of Grace made her stall for the merest instant. Long enough that—the teeth tore into her wing, like Hellfire searing, except gooey and clinging, her wing dripping with the corruption, and she dropped. She tried to keep herself aloft with her uninjured wing—but she kept falling. Some of her siblings, ones that had mostly died off in the Civil War, had had more than one set of wings.

(For the first time, Hannah wished that she had more than one set. Just to keep herself from crashing.)

She veered, to land before that bright Grace that had distracted her. Only to see Castiel, gritty with Purgatory, felling yet another Leviathan. "Brother!" she gasped out, staggering beneath the pained weight of her wing. "Brother, we are here to rescue you."

"We?" he rasped, eyes on the Leviathan that had followed her here.

Hannah nodded. "Yes. Others. There are many others." Many others that were going to die if they didn't move fast.

With a burst of dirt and a splatter of darkness, the Leviathan crashed into the ground, forming itself into a human-like shape. Much like her own—and that was too much to think about now, why in Purgatory she appeared in human visage. Hannah tensed, wings fluttering, and she choked up as her injured wing pulled at the wound.

This had never been intended as her role. In the grand scheme of things, she was not a powerful angel. But she was one of the only ones left. There wasn't a choice.

Castiel launched himself at the monster, quick and harsh, power crackling in him, and she could believe that it was he—he that—he that what? He had done something of that she was sure, something that made her want to draw her blade on him—but she merely frowned and moved to assist him. Another brother landed behind the Leviathan. Between the three, the Leviathan fell with a shriek that surely alerted every creature in this place of their presence.

"I do not wish to be rescued," Castiel told them, his voice sure in the fading light of Purgatory. "Please, escape before anything—"

Another Leviathan exploded behind their brother and—he erupted in dripping black corruption with a cry. Hannah reached out and grasped Castiel's hand. "We are under orders to return you to Heaven. Please—"

How many more angels would have to die for his desire to stay? How many angels were to die for Castiel?

Her wings shook—a flash of it, then, a green field and the dark spread of dead angels. The aftermath of the Civil War. But she couldn't remember… why had it started?

"I can't. You don't understand, I cannot—" Castiel shook his head, but she pulled at him harder.

"Please," Hannah turned her gaze to the sky, "Please, there has been enough death today."

Somewhere, another angel was extinguished screaming. Maybe, if Castiel heard it too, he would reconsider this insanity.

Castiel blinked at her, eyes such brilliant blue in this colorless place, and then he nodded. "Yes. I would not—no one else should pay for my crimes. Come." And he grasped her hand tighter.

They flew. He half-pulled her behind, and the Leviathans chased with all the electric fury of Purgatory at their backing. His great black wings carried them both, somehow not getting snagged in the branches. Truly, he was a powerful angel. But why so many had to die in his rescue… Hannah stopped herself. There was no room for questioning, especially not with monsters at their backs. Castiel asked, "Where do we go?" they darted between a set of trees, "And where are the others?"

"I will communicate with them, to inform them that you are saved." Hannah did so, and without Castiel pulling her along, she would have faltered. So few responded to her exclamation.

Surely, surely there were more left. There had to be more left. She told them to return to Heaven now. And to hurry.

Hannah pointed Castiel in the direction of the portal to Heaven that Naomi had opened. It pulsated green in the distance, and Castiel aided her in that direction. With the Leviathans shrieking behind them, Hannah and Castiel flung themselves into the green. Bright white light surrounded them, harsh and stinging after the dull of Purgatory. And then, there was darkness.

* * *

Hannah woke groggy in a bright bright room. "You're awake. Good," and one of her siblings that she could not recall meeting greeted her, soft and easy, and Hannah relaxed. "I am Naomi. And you have done Heaven a great service."

"…I have?" she asked.

"Yes. You won't remember—it was a difficult endeavor that seems to have affected your memory. But you have done good work, Hannah. Would you like to do more for Heaven?"

"Of course," Hannah said.

"We'll begin immediately."


End file.
